June’s weather had ups and downs

July 3, 2014

ALPENA - A rollercoaster ride is how National Weather Service- Gaylord meteorologist Scott Rozanski described the weather in Alpena for June. The month began with a warm spell and was capped off with another, with cool temperatures sandwiched in between.

On June 1 the month began with a high temperature of 89 degrees and was matched on the last day of the month. The 89 degrees was the high mark in terms of heat for June. After the initial heat wave, cooler temperatures moved into the area and stuck around for about 10 days. At the end of the month the average temperature was 0.70 of a degree above average.

"It really was a rollercoaster ride. When you talk to people, some say it was a warm month and others say it was cold. Really they are both right," Rozanski said. "It started warm, but then the breaks got put on and cool tempertures took over until near the end of the month. Temperature-wise Alpena was really all over the place."

Article Photos

News Photo by Jordan TravisRick and Nomi Bowen, left and right, walk with daughter Kim Middleditch, center, grandson Kaden and dog Boo down the Maritime Heritage Trail section of the Alpena bi-path on Wednesday afternoon.

The thermometer dipped to its lowest point of the month the night of June 20 when it fell to 39 degrees. The average low temperature was 50.7 degrees, which is one degree above the normal average for June.

Precipitation was 1.44 inches below average for the month, as the Alpena area received 1.18 inches. The average rainfall is 2.62 inches. Rozanski said water temperatures in Lake Huron have been slow to warm, and when normal water temperatures return to Thunder Bay Alpena could see an uptick in rain and thunderstorms. He said below average precipitation is not uncommon for June and next June could be the opposite.

"It is over an inch below normal, but it really isn't a huge difference because normally things begin to dry out in June anyway," Rozanski said. "In some places, like Gaylord, we had a lot of thunderstorms and we ended up above average, but the storms never made it to Alpena many times. It just didn't have the conditions conducive ... to keep the storms together. As the water continues to warm that could change."

Fact Box

June weather in Alpena

High temperature: 89 degrees

Low temperature: 39 degrees

Average high: 74.9 degrees

Average low: 50.7 degrees

Average temperature: 62.8 degrees

Precipitation: 1.18 inches

Rozanski said July is shaping up to be similar to June, but a bit warmer. He said the holiday weekend will be dry, with light winds and not too hot. He said the next chance of rain is Sunday, so most of the scheduled fireworks events should not be in jeopardy.

"Sunny with the highs in the low 70s and winds at five to 10 miles an hour. You can't ask for a simpler forecast," Rozanski said. "For the Memorial Day weekend and now the Fourth, you really couldn't have written a better script for the first two summer holidays, especially with all of the goofy weather we have had."

The rest of July forecasts to see up and down temperatures Rozanski said the 30 year average for the normal high is about 80 degrees, but that could be eclipsed.

"I won't rule out having some days in the 90s. That is entirely possible," Rozanski said. "But 80 degrees is really the average high temperature and about what people should expect for a summer in northern Michigan. I think summer will be a typical summer for this area."